Quince, Cry no more
by Morning Bleach
Summary: There lies a secret, the biggest secret in the Warriors series, that we were ment to find, what is hidden within 'The Rise of Scourge' ? Rumors have flown, which is true? I can tell you ...but you may not agree. What do You think it was?
1. Quince, Cry no More

here is a story that was not intended to be so long, like an eighth of this, but you know an authors mind.

this is written for a suspition that is hinted to in 'the rise of scourge' as stated by Erin Hunter. amazon cats agreed finally on a good enough secret so this is my idea of how it worked out. enjoy and pease review!

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Quince

She could remember her mothers' voice, the softness of the blanket in that light brown whicker basket, her brothers and her playing in that very basket they had been born in. She remembered her mother speaking of her mate, a tom that Quince had never met but knew enough to know he was her father. Her brothers and her would roughhouse all the time, play fighting, biting the others fur, combing little claws throw the soft pelts, and her mother watching over them, meowing out pointers or attacks for the kits to try out. That had been the best time of her life, The Best. She would wake up in the warmth of her families' bodies, drink her mothers sweet milk, or try the oats the housefolk laid out for her and her brothers, then they would play and nap and play some more. Life was so good. But one day her mother gathered her and her brothers together and spoke to them.

"_Soon you'll be going to your new home"_

The kits protested as any kits would. Who could leave their mother and brothers? All they know was inside these walls. But that was about to change. Just as her mother told her other housefolk came. Her mother thru out some yarn for them to play with. The housefolk-kit went crazy over them playing, and before she knew it, Quince was picked up by a housekit and taken with them. Her mother and brothers cried out their good byes, it would be a long time before they would ever see each other again.

When she arrived at the new home the housekit took her all around, showing her how large it was and all the toys they had for her, but what scared Quince the most was when the housekit took her outside the house and set her down in soft green fur. She looked around, never had she seen such a thing before! Color was exploding everywhere! Brown pillars rose up into more green before they stopped; blobs of color hung form stems of green all around. Outside was an amazing adventure Quines soon learned. She found many strange objects in the yard and slowly as time passed she learned the names of the objects, of the trees and flowers, of the grass and butterflies, which were the most fun if she didn't catch them in her claws, she learned all too soon.

But even as she lived the pain of being alone showed in her darkest hours. The nights were cold in her basket. Sure the basket was more comfortable than her old one, but there were no bodies to keep the basket warm and inviting. No brothers to play with, no mother to curl up against when the storms in the great sky rolled across the land. She was all alone, no other cats lived around her so even when she was playing outside she was reminded of her loneliness. Her housefolk treated her well. They played with her and giving her yummy treats when she did something really cute, but they just weren't cats. And again everything in Quinces world changed in minuets.

Another cat appeared in the house. His fur was a soft ginger, no other color. His eyes where dark blue and he was her age but his face was older looking than hers she thought. When he finally tracked her down, she hadn't moved from that spot since she first saw him, she was hiding under the big couch. He slipped under but kept his distance, not wanting to scare her she guessed. Then he spoke, such a gentle voice.

"_My name is Fire." "…I'm Quince."_

That tom changed her life for good.

"_I'm going to catch you Fire!"_

"_You'll never catch me, you're too slow!!"_

And slowly that pain of losing her family began to heal and her heart was growing light once again. She had a playmate, a friend, someone who could comfort her, and helped keep the basket warm at night. Some one to exchange licks and purrs, share the food bowl with, and hear him tell stories of wild forest cats that he wanted to meet one day. And along the way she was growing too, growing into a queen, Quince was a kit no more.

When she told Fire the news…he was shocked, scared.

"_What, kits! A-are you in pain? Tired? Hungry? Can I get you something? Maybe you should lie down. Res,t you need a lot of that and no more playing around. I don't want to hurt you or the kits,"_

She laughed at him, he was dumfounded, asking why she was laughing, why she was thinking so lightly of her condition. She remembered, it took her over a week to calm him down and get him to relax because of the kits. And when the kits finally came, he was a big ginger bag of 'woo's and 'ahhh's. Always a worried father, she remembered, trying to make sure they had everything they needed. He got better as they grew and he loved to play with them. That soon became his favorite thing to do. They'd all play together out in the yard, in the tall grass and in the soft flowerbed.

Their kits loved the yard most of all. Speck, the oldest of the litter was the most adventurous; his fur was a dark ginger, wide set eyes and a habit of getting into trouble, also the only tom of the litter. His sister were more laid back, Twinkle and Ice were like twins, both had matching ginger fur, just like their fathers and mothers, both had brown eyes and at the tip of each tail was a dot of white. Sometimes the only reason Quince knew the two apart was from scent and Ice was just a bit more rambunctious then Twinkle.

To Quince, life was good once again. But than other housefolk came to their home, and started playing with her kits. Quince began to worry, this was what had happened with her; she was the same age when she was taken from her mother and brothers. She hopped her housefolk wouldn't do that to her kits but then one picked up Ice and placed her in a carrier.

"_No! No! Not my kit!" _

She shot at the cage, trying to get her kit out of it. Ice was crying for her, she didn't want to go, _"Mama, get me out! Mama!"_ but the she-housefolk picked up Quince and placed her in a cage that was used to go in car rides.

-I'm so sorry about that, it's her first litter. She doesn't want to see them go, I believe.-

Quince did not understand what the housefolk were saying. And they visitors left with Ice. She could hear her kit wailing even when the door was shut. It took a while but her housefolk eventually opened the cage. She didn't know what to do, her kit was gone. She knew she'd never see her again, it was cruel. The housefolk thought they could rip apart families like it was nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to cry over, and nothing at all.

Slowly Fire had come out from under the couch and neared the cage.

"_Quince… you alright?"_

"_No, NO I'm Not Alright! They took her, Ice is gone, she's gone Fire, we'll never see her again." _

"_I know, I know, but that is how it goes."_

It was how it goes; she could not stop them from taking Twinkle and Speck either. The family that she had grow to love all so much was gone, all but Fire and her remained.

"_How come they think they can do this to us?"_

"_It's too much for the humans to feed so many cats Quince, I have never heard of a queen who got to keep her kits or very often of a pair to be able to live together."_

Slowly again Fire brought her out of her hurting heart, his reasons made cense to Quince. Even though she did not want to believe, her kits would forever be gone, any future kits too would one day be gone, this she learned all too hard.

When it came time for her next litter, four seasons had passed outside and the enormous hurt of her heart was healed. But as her next litter grew and played, she couldn't help but keep her distance from them. If they were to be taken she didn't want her heart to break a third time. Patch, Lily and Cream grew and played with their father, always running to him for help, to him for comfort and to him for everything. She soon began to learn that this pain, thou it was different, was just as painful as losing them, even when they were right there with her. And she cried again when more housefolk visited and took them away, but they were not as scared to go. Fire had explained to them how things would happen, that they would find new homes without one another, but that they would be happy in those homes and would not be lonely for long. When they were gone, Fire came to her again.

"_How are you doing?"_

"_Fine…I guess…"_

"_They wanted to be near you, ya know, they didn't get why you were always so cold."_

"_They thought I was cold to them??"_

"_Yes, you won't always be sad to see them go. They will go to good homes, find good mates and live happy lives, you have to believe that and it won't be so hard, can't you try?"_

"_I guess your right, I can…try."_

And she did. When the snow fell that next year though, she knew she would have to try harder than ever; because Fire wasn't there to be there for the kits should she fail. He had grown ill, he vomited when he eat, there was blood, not a lot but it did not go on unnoticed by the housefolk, they took him away in the cage for car rides. When they came back, Fire was not with them. She searched their scent for his, but it was fading fast, they took away the second water bowl, put less food in the food bowl, even went back to the smaller litter box they had before he had come to the house. And she cried. Quince cried again and again, now he was gone and soon their kits would come, grow and be gone as well.

Maybe she was meant to be alone in her life, to be taken from those she held dear. But she had promised Fire to try for their kits, to be a good mother whom the kits would turn to for help and guidance. She couldn't let her heart grow cold to her kits and her housefolk, though she wanted to; she wanted so badly to stop being hurt so much.

Her kits came. A tom with black fur, white muzzle and forepaws; she named him Socks. A she-cat with a solid red coat, she named her Ruby. A tom, he was small. He didn't breathe for the longest time even after she licked him clean. Quince began to get worried, a still-born kit, it was her fault she was sure. She had been so fatigued over Fires loss that she had killed his kit. And she cried again. The housefolk took the small bundle onto their big paws and wrapped him in a towel before leaving the room. Quince tried to go over to the housefolk but she had the other two to take care of, she couldn't leave them.

Later that night the housefolk cried out as well, but its cry was happy and joy filled. Quince did not see why he could be so happy after such a tragedy until he came running in, still holding the towel. He knelt beside the basket and lowered the towel down, placing a small body right up to Quinces belly. It was her third kit! He was moving, breathing. He latched on quickly to her teat and began to nurse. Quince was over come with joy. She didn't know how but he was alive! She bent down to lick the bundle, gently thou, she thought, not wanting to harm him in anyway. He was so small, he would have to fight but he was a fighter already. Tiny, you will be but I'm sure you will make up for it in strength.

She loved their kits, she watched them as they grew, and she was there for them in every hurt, carried for them in every way she could think of. She made sure that Socks and Ruby did not play too hard with Tiny. She had always been worried for him, but she couldn't help it. She also knew that one day housefolk visitors would come and take them away. But Fires' words came back to her,

"_You won't always be sad to see them go, they will live happy lives, you have to believe that and it won't be so hard, can't you try?"_

Yes, yes she would try and she would believe that, she had to, for Fires sake and for her own. So one day, she gathered them up just as her mother had done for her and her brothers and explained to them in her mothers' words the process that would one day soon occur in the house. They didn't want to go but they would go, there was not stopping it.

When the visitors came she pushed out a ball of yard telling them to play and Socks and Ruby did. Tiny hung back. These visitors did not take one of her kits with them, but she knew others would. The next time Tiny was ignored again, while Ruby and Socks got all the attention, Tiny sulked away. The visitors took Ruby with them and Quince went to look for Tiny. Strange, she thought, he wasn't in the house. When she checked outside she found his scent trail leading right…to a hole in the fence. NO! He had said he had gotten out but she thought he had made it up! But he hadn't, she tried to crawl under the fence but she was too big. She called out his name but no answer came. When she tried to jump on top of the fence she could not find her balance. She had no way of getting to where ever Tiny had gone. He Was Gone. He was gone, and not to a kind home or a safe house but to the woods or streets or worse.

She had told her kits the stories of wild forest cats that she had heard Fire tell previous litters. Now with her kit was out in that world. There was no way of telling if right then he was laying out in the woods, bleeding to death or already dead. She could not get to him and protected till he was safe at home. She was helpless.

And she cried yet again, yet another pain, a new pain clung at her heart and she could do nothing about it.

In the morning more housefolk came and chose Socks.

"_Bye Mama,"_

"_Bye my sweet …be safe" _she whispered.

Her kits were all gone, her mate was gone, she was alone again, but at least she could weep and morn in privacy, so she did. She lived on as she had to, happy with the housefolk that kept her safe, sad at night as she lie in the basket cold and lonely once again. She called out for Tiny when she was in the backyard but no answer ever came. A season passed, the loneliest season of Quinces life.

Her housefolk began to change things again, the food bowl was filled as it had been when the kits were around, the second water bowl was set out again and the litter box was enlarged. The housefolk were rushing around with happy squeaky voices, they grabbed the cage for car rides but left her alone in the house when they finally got out the door. Quince just didn't understand it, _Why?_ Her question was answered near dusk when the housefolk opened the front door.

A voice came rushing through the house, a happy voice, a voice she could understand. A voice she _knew!_

"_Quince! Quince, are you here? Come out Quince!!"_

It couldn't be, not… not after such a long time, _"Fire!!"_

"_Quince, come on out! I'm home!"_

There, standing in the cage, in the arms of the housefolk, was Fire. His ginger fur gleamed, his eyes bright and his tail raised high when his eyes finally fell on her as she crawled out from beneath the couch.

The housefolk set the cage on the floor and opened the door. Fire shot out, running to Quince. He licked her muzzle and ears as she licked his as well. Their purrs drowned out anything they might have tried to say but it didn't matter. She didn't know how but Fire had come back to her. He had returned and there was nothing she could have wanted more than that.

When they finally could speak again, they housefolk had gone and they lay in the basket but sleep would not come to either that night. He told her of the 'clinic' he had been at, of the illness and pain he had overcome, the strange times when he would fall asleep at the hands of the humans and showed her where they had so often taken his fur off enough times to leave a scare in his fur line.

"_I would always wake up with this white cone thing on my head and they wouldn't take it off for days!" _

His adventures sounded so painful to Quince but he assured her that everything the humans did to him was for the good, even after they had healed him they would not let the housefolk take him home to make sure no illness came back.

"_The housefolk would visit often, and they showed me pictures of you and the kits, how did everything go? They looked very happy in the pictures."_

Quince began the story of their kits life, of the fear she had lost Tiny, of the struggle to be happy for them in his absence, of their growing up and tumbling around on unsteady paws. How Ruby and Socks would treat Tiny and how she tried to get them to stop; of how she had handled them taking them away and… of Tinys' disappearance.

"_He was just gone, I thing he left on purpose. In his story of when he left the yard before he seemed to be able to handle himself, but how could he just leave and survive out there on his own?"_

"_He sounds like a strong kit, and he won't be a kit for much longer, even if he is small he can survive. Cats have survived before all on their own so why not Tiny."_

Fire seemed so sure of himself even Quince began to believe him.

With their stories told and the sun well on its way to mid-day, they curled up closer together and settled in for a long, comfortable and warm sleep.

The snow fell and then flowers bloomed, the trees grew full and they turned brown once again before Quinces forth litter was born. Fire was so proud of her, he said so often. This litter had been hard. She had been weak for much of it. The housefolk often took her in to the vet to be checked out and kept her from doing too much, but Fire kept her from doing anything. He told her to stay in the basket even if it was just to use the litter box. He even brought her some food until the humans got the hint and put the food dish beside the basket on a box so she wouldn't have to leave the basket to eat or to drink. Quince thought this was going too far but Fire insisted on it.

Finally after the three months had passed she gave birth. The first kit was a ginger tom just like Fire, his fur was dull and he had quite a voice on him. The second kit was another tom. He was black with a white back paw, the same side that Tiny's white paw had been on, but he was by far not tiny. Quinces' third kit was a she-kit, her fur was a dull coal grey, almost silver. And to Fires surprise the contractions started yet again. Another she-kit, she was white with a ginger chest, the smallest of the litter but not by much. Quinces fifth and finally kit was a tom again, his fur was brighter than his fathers ginger fur, a little more reddish, Quince thought.

"_They are beautiful."_

"_Yeah,"_

Rest was what Quince needed, and a lot of it. The kits were going to take a lot out of her, and she didn't have much to give. She slept right thru the first day, even as the kits nursed. Fire gave them their baths after they nursed and kept them as quiet as he could. On the second day when it came time to nurse the housefolk picked up two of the kits and appeared to feed them. Fire came sniffing around and the housefolk held the strange cup out to him. White liquid dripped onto his nose, when he licked it away he tasted milk. They were helping Quince feed her kits. Fire couldn't have been more relived.

After they housefolk began to help out, Quince began to get her strength back. When she finally could they picked out names.

"_Let's start with the oldest," -Quince_

"_How about Ginger, his coat is the color after all and it's what I've been thinking of for him." -Fire_

"_Ginger is not really a toms name though…" -Quince_

"_Well what other name then?" -Fire_

"_Auburn if another word for ginger." -Quince_

"_Auburn…yeah I like it, Auburn then. Now for the black tom, like Tiny was." -Fire_

"_Tiny won't work, he's the biggest of the bunch. How 'bout Poppy?" -Quince_

"_I like that, Poppy it is then, and I think the older she-kit should be named Silver." -Fire_

"_I was thinking that too, ok, can we name the second she-kit Princess?" -Quince_

"_Yeah, that's perfect" -Fire_

"_Good, that was my mothers' name." -Quince_

"_A beautiful name; and the last tom?" -Fire_

"_You pick," -Quince_

"_Rusty, after my father. You like it?"-Fire_

"_It fists him perfect, Fire. Auburn, Poppy, Silver, Princess and Rusty. Our five kits." -Quince_

"_That's one big litter, Quince." -Fire_

"_I Know."_

This was Quinces happiest litter. So many littermates make the kits easily entertained and happy. And they were able to take down their father when they worked together as a team. Poppy was the strongest, always the first to jump in, and then came Silver a swift cat she was and always had a smile on her face. Auburn was lad back but he joined the tussle more often then not. Princess didn't like to tussle so roughly but when she would be encouraged by Rusty to join, she made a great effort. Rusty was the thinker, always with the plan on how to jump their father, more often then not they succeeded; especially when they grew bigger.

When it came time for the kits to get new homes they gave them specifics on what would happen, Fire and Quince together explained the process and encouraged them. And one by one they left with their new housefolk. They were sad good byes but a very vocal send offs. First to be chosen was Silver, and then went Poppy; Princess next by the kindest of the housefolk, Quince thought. Then Rusty went away and finally Auburn. And so Quince mourned their loss but not for too long, she had her mate to help her thru and she had learned how to heal in the toughest of times. She missed her kits, every litter she missed. Her first naive litter of Speck, Twinkle and Ice; her second distanced litter of Patch, Lily and Cream; her third, the toughest of them all with Socks, Ruby and Tiny; and her fourth litter of Auburn, Poppy, Silver, Princess and Rusty. So they would be the biggest litter. They would also be Quinces last litter. It had taken its toll on her and their housefolk made sure there wasn't the chance of lose her like they had nearly lost Fire.

Her life had been one that was lived indoors. Fire had always been a very explorationary cat, so often tried to coax her to come with him but she always found a reason not to. But now she could find not reason and soon found the adventure in exploring with her mate. As she got out more and explored with her mate she was happy to come across a few familiar faces. In her outings she and Fire first met with a brother of hers, they talked for some time before they realized who the other was, his name had been changed. That encounter made her hopeful and more willing to explore, even more then Fire. Then they met up with her first litter, Patch and Twinkle had been taken together and lived next door to one another. They understood now what had happened and told Quince to not worry about them anymore. They had even scented Ice at the vet they were taken to and met her on one of their visits so they knew she too was alright. Quince finally got a load off her shoulders that she had not known she was carrying for so long.

Of their second litter they met Lily, she was at a happy home with little kits of her own and a housekit had recently been born as well. She could not talk long but was unable to give any news on her littermates as she had not seen them since that day. She too understood her mothers' pain as well, but could not forgive her fully for how she had acted to her and her littermates. Quince understood this; she had been no mother to her second litter and did not blame Lily at all for feeling the way she did. Unable to stay any longer Lily parted and returned to her nest.

Of the third litter they never ran across any of the kits no matter how they searched. Worry filled Quince over Tiny, fearing he had been met by the rogue cats or the dangerous forest cats and had life taken away from him much too soon. As long as she and Fire searched never did they come across the third litter.

But of the fourth they meet up with both Auburn and Princess. Auburn had a good home with rambunctious Housekits to take care of. Princess had had a litter of her own and was carrying her second by the time they had meet near five seasons later. She also told of her brother who had gone to the forest and now lived with the cats of ThunderClan. Worry filled Quinces heart at hearing this, but Fire seemed like he couldn't be more proud of his little kit; which he got a little bit over from Quince when they returned home. As he had calmed all her other fears before he calmed also those for Rusty, now Fireheart, as Princess told them. Quince had to ecept it and be thankful she had Princess to tell them of his safety. Princess would inform them on later visits of other littermates that she saw from time to time and of news within ThunderClan and of her own son whom she had sent to live in the forest with Fireheart and the ThunderClan cats. One day she was able to tell them that Rusty had become the leader of the Clan and was now known as Firestar, he protected the clan from danger, even from rogue cats from twoleg place as they called it. She herself did not understand all he told her or what the significance was of this achievement but Quince and Fire could believe this achievement was one not easily earned.

They kept in contact with as many of their kits as they could over the seasons and when Fire became to worn out to go, Quince brought back what news that she could.

Her world had gone from losses to so many joys. And even as the days passed now, lazily by, she could think back and know that many of her kits were safe and were living wonderful lives. Finally she for once was able to curl up on top of the sofa in the warm sun with her mate and sleep deeply, being filled with wonderful dreams of the days gone by. For the rest of her life Quince would cry no more.

there you go, if you think this is the secret then please review and tell me what you think, i have come across the thought of them only being half siblings,such as she took a new mate or he mated with another kittypet while exploring. but i like them being full brothers, it makes it that much more sad.

review and and and and...Review!...please  
MorningSun


	2. My Thoughts

Ok, thank you to all the awesome reviewers!!

Thank you to all the awesome reviewers!! And to address _c010lblinds_ question about Firestar being older, that got me thinking that maybe I had got it all wrong! Ah! That's bad, so I had to go search, (I'm sort of a researcher when it comes to this kind of stuff) and I started coming across things that supported an older Tiny and a younger Firestar.

(Thanks for your thoughts that really got me thinking)

ONE: When Tiny first left home, he meets up with Thistleclaw, Bluefur, and Tigerpaw in the woods. This had to have been moons before Rusty entered the clan at the age of six moons. Time for Tigerpaw to become a warrior and for Thistleclaw to die; time is needed for Bluefur to have and given up her kits, become deputy and then succeed as leader, even lose a few lives there before the Rusty even entered the woods. Also, the day Rusty joined ThunderClan Tigerclaw was a seasoned warrior with an apprentice and in the running to be deputy alone with old Whitestorm. I don't know how many months that would have needed to pass for all that to happen but I guess quite a few. So Rusty had to have been born after Tiny or he would be older than or at least as old as Tigerclaw. That is impossible.

TWO: Tiny was the runt of the litter, he would always be small and not grow as big as most cats his age. After he leaves home and begins living in the two-leg place he needs the time to: gather the cats trust and/or fear, take over as leader, not to mention learn on how to fight his own. He came across his little trick because he is smaller than other cats, thus he can get under their throat very easily and slitting it. Also time needs to pass for to be born, join ThunderClan, work his way up to leader; I believe this took about one and a half to two years. Giving Tiny-turned-Scourge time to gather his forces, keep the cats in line and even dictate their raising of kits.

THREE: Barley told of his life as a kit in the two-leg place under Scourge. He knew all too well of Scorge's wrath and his treatment of kits, she-cats, and mates. Barley was able to get away from the two-leg place, find the barn and grow into friendship with the warrior cats (or at least Bluestar). He was already a full grown cat with moons behind him when Firepaw, Graypaw and Ravenpaw to meet him. He even had friends that had escaped from Scourge. That all takes time.

FOUR: Tiny speaks that 'many moons passed' before Tigerstar actually came to him. Boulder had to have been scared away from two-leg place (after Scourge became leader) and join ShadowClan; he is even mentioned in the very first book, _Into the Wild_, as already having an apprentice.

FIVE: Mistyfoot and Stonefur: they would have been born after Bluefur's encounter with Tiny in the forest for her to still be out on patrol, making Tiny older than Bluestars kits. But again, Stonefur became deputy after the very beginning of book one (when Oakheart is killed by the falling rock, a.k.a. Tigerclaw), it takes time to raise a kit to be able to be a warrior let alone a trusted Deputy. (Yes, Fireheart becomes a very young deputy but he is an exception and Bluestar wasn't in her right mind, (not saying she should have picked someone else… *cough* Whitestorm *cough*))

I know there was a sixths one but I can't remember it …

I _don't_ mean for this to be a 'I know more than you', it's not, your question just got me thinking and when my mind thinks I can't stop it, and I do enjoy researching the books again, I got my books spread out around me right now, haha.

That is actually how I started this story, the first line came into my head and I just couldn't let go of it till I wrote. I am actually thinking about adding a litter between Tinys' litter and Rustys' litter. There seems to be more moons in there than I thought, and one year just isn't cutting it for me, it may be a small litter, say only two kits… maybe even just one? What do you guys think? And Quince does mean five, so that would be five litters and her fifth ending with five kits. What do you think?

Also I do realize that the one litter that Quince raised on her own seemed to have a terrible end for the three kits, almost like she failed as a mother, which makes me sad, I don't want her to be a failure.

This post is not to say this theory (that Rusty and Tiny are full blood brothers) is true or correct or anything, not at all, just that Rusty is younger than Tiny which puts my mind to rest that I didn't make too big of a mistake. And yes, I do know that they are only half-brothers thru their father but I like the idea of full blood brothers. Anyway,

Thanks for the hits and reviews again!

Oh if this post is a little strange, I'm taking after the cats on Amazon who argue over who the true parents of the three are; listing their reasons and all.

That's all now, thanks for reading, and good night!


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